1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sample preparation system for processing a sample placed in position in a sample holder within a vacuum chamber by irradiating the sample with an ion beam.
2. Description of Related Art
A sample preparation system is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-037164 for preparing a sample to be observed on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or transmission electron microscope (TEM) comprising etching a sample by irradiating it with an ion beam. The sample is processed into a shape adapted for SEM imaging or TEM imaging.
With the aforementioned sample preparation system, when the sample is exchanged within atmosphere, the tilt angle of the surface of the sample to be processed with respect to the ion beam is adjusted. Then, the sample is set within a vacuum chamber. The chamber is evacuated. Subsequently, the sample is prepared. Therefore, there is the problem that the tilt angle cannot be reset with simple manipulations.